Using German Volume Training For Rapid Muscle Growth

Jan 04, 2015 in Sportsfuel Articles and Blog

If you are looking to add some serious muscle mass to your frame, then you should be looking at the German Volume Training routine.

Chances are good that you’ve seen Hans and Franz on Saturday Night Live or the State Farm commercials claiming they ‘want to pump you up!’ Chances are also good that they are big fans of German Volume Training.

The Volume part of the training refers to the sheer amount of lifting that is done in this program. You only do two exercises in each workout but you do 10 sets of 10 reps of each exercise with very little rest. Yes, it is a very intense workout plan.

The program is designed to blast the major muscle groups (chest, shoulders, back and legs) simultaneously. One excursive in each workout relies on a push movement, the other a pull. The only concession in volume is during the leg days when sets are reduced to six reps, but you are still going to burn and burn hard.

The workouts are split between upper and lower body and should you should start the program using about 50% or less of your one rep max for the exercise.

The method behind the madness is sound and has been proven effective time and time again. The volume and time under stress for the muscle groups cause them to break down and repair and that equals growth – rapid growth. An example of weekly work out looks like this:

Day 1 – Chest and Back – 10 sets of bench press and 10 sets of lat pull downs – 10 reps of every set. Alternate exercises and limit rest to at least 60 seconds but no longer than 90 seconds.

This program should be done for six weeks and you will definitely need a recovery period of a week at least, probably two, before you want to start a second round or move your focus to something other than growth.

A couple more considerations:

#1 Food – you will need to increase your daily calorie consumption to allow for proper muscle repair and maximum growth. A protein shake during the workout as well as post workout is recommended.

#2 Rep length – four seconds per rep is recommended for optimum results. Yes, it’s long but no one said this was easy!That’s enough to get you started. Enjoy the misery!